My Neighbor Philomena
My Neighbor Philomena is the first story of the Grey Menace chapters. Characters Main Characters * Philomena Develsbourne * Darni Hassjad * Miranda Sucipto * Sumirna Armanto * Erna Lubis * Hilda Oenger * Maya Hapsari Supporting Characters * Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo * Lusinda Sucipto * Perbawanto Sucipto * Gino Abdullah * Minah Mintarsih * Sumarno Armanto * Michael Hidajat * Gladys Pessik * Village Secretary * Truck Driver * Ifrit Plot The Arrival Darni Hassjad, a ceramitologist and a researcher of archaeology, arrives at the Penggung Airport in Cirebon in the afternoon after a trip to the Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds in Jambi, Sumatra. She is bound next to Paterosari, Kuningan, to visit her late father's cousin, Sumirna Armanto, by the request of her mother. She meets Philomena Develsbourne, a once-widowed and twice-divorced sexagenarian from Florida, the United States, who had arrived earlier from a transit flight to Jakarta with a large congregation of luggage (in contrast to Darni's two duffel bags). Unable to contact her Aunt Mimi, Darni sits defeatedly in the airport while Phil sorts her luggage. The two talk and discover that they are both headed to Paterosari, with Phil moving back in with her family and Darni for a month's visit and holiday. Phil explains to Darni that her family was supposed to pick her up four hours ago, so she decides to find some other mode of transport to get to the bus stop in Argasunya, where afterward, she will take the bus to Paterosari. Darni finds the idea cumbersome and preposterous but follows the eccentric older woman anyway out of curiosity (and desperation). Phil enlists the assistance of a man driving a pickup truck with three goats at the back. The women place their luggage at the back and sit by the goats, luckily arriving not soon after. As they wait for the bus, Phil tells Darni about her family and Paterosari and asks her about her aunt, who turns out to be one of Phil's longtime friends since childhood. Darni falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she is sitting next to Phil on the bus, which has only several other passengers. The bus passes through rows and rows of seemingly endless she-oak trees until the bus passes a large archway and stops at a bus stop, just outside the Rumah Makan Sana, a Padang eatery that is open 24 hours. The passengers get off and disperse, leaving Phil and Darni in the bus stop. The women decide to enter the Padang eatery, which is brightly lit and filled with customers. The women sit down by a window and are served meals by the waiter. Phil, having been overseas for a long time, forgets and nearly drinks from the finger bowl. After eating their dinner, Darni asks Euis Citraloka on how to get to Caraka Badiran with their luggage. After introducing themselves, Euis remarks that they know their families and introduces herself as the village secretary. She offers to drive the women to Caraka Badiran and they leave immediately since it's nearing midnight. The women drive past old houses and shophouses and arrive at Jalan Angsa, Taman Kuntul, in Caraka Badiran. The two thank the village secretary and Phil goes to Mimi's house along with Darni. The women find the gate locked and no bell to ring, so Phil decides to go round the back, telling Darni that there used to be a 'secret passage' to the house (which is actually a loose fence) that Mimi used to sneak out through when they were children. Their struggles to bring the luggage in awakens Mimi and her brother Sumarno Armanto (the former, who, thinking the two women were robbers, threw plastic buckets at them). When the women reveal themselves, Mimi apologizes and embraces her old friend, laughing together. They bring the luggage in and Mimi prepares them some tea. After catching up on old times and discussing their old friends, Darni notices that it is 2 AM and asks Mimi and Phil whether or not they would sleep, and the two older women answered that they'd rather stay up like they used to when they were young, only for them to fall asleep half an hour later on the sofa. The First Day Darni wakes up the next morning and feels the coldness of Paterosari as she unpacks her morning things and looks around her room, which used to be the room of Mimi's son. She finds Mimi and Phil at the breakfast table and Marno watching TV in his recliner. The sound of a roaring Mercedes is heard and Mimi remarks that it's the sound of Phil's family car. Phil walks outside and stands in the middle of the street, which results in the car taking a halt and the door flinging open, with Lusinda Sucipto, Phil's niece running towards her apologizing that she mixed up her flight number with the arrival time. Wanto Sucipto, Lusi's husband (and Phil's foil) comes out and Phil explains the situation. With the help of Gino Abdullah, the driver, the three of them move Phil's luggage while Phil finishes her breakfast. She thanks Darni for keeping her company and Darni thanks her for the adventure. Entering her old home opened a floodgate of memories for Phil. She is shown to her old bedroom by the housekeeper, Minah Mintarsih, and soon falls asleep. A few hours later, she is awakened as the house is enveloped in darkness. As she makes her way throughout the house in darkness, she is greeted by her grandniece Miranda Sucipto, who informs her that power outages are common. Mira lights a candle and Phil talks to her in the former's bedroom, acquainting herself with this relative that she had never met before. The power soon returns and Phil hears a familiar voice from downstairs. She runs downstairs and meets her mother, Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo, home from a meeting with The Paterosari League of Women, and embraces her. Moes tells her that she ran into Phil's old friend Erna Lubis at the supermarket and she'd love to be visited. Phil goes over to Mimi's house and asks her to come along, but Mimi is reluctant and tells her that she's not feeling well. Mira offers to accompany her, and the two decide to walk to Erna's house in Central Paterosari. As they walk, Mira mentions how Mimi has mostly kept to herself since her husband died. Upon arriving to Erna's house, the brassy Erna greets them excitedly and invites them to sit down as Erna shares with them all that's happened since Phil left in 1972, including her retirement and how 'the old gang' had broken up since Phil left. Erna also informs her that their friend Maya Hapsari had been very ill for a while, which shocks Phil. She asks Erna to come with her to visit Maya afterward, but Erna says that she had tried to visit her twice that week and was told that Maya was sleeping. The End of the Beginning As they leave, Mira remarks that Erna must've been told that because Maya probably didn't want to see her, as Erna is not the most pleasant woman (as she previously taught at her school before she retired). Mira suggests that Phil should still visit Maya and the two make their way there. They are greeted by Maya's son, Michael Hidajat, who tells Phil that Maya had been waiting for her to come back for a long time. They find Maya lying limply in bed with the support of an oxygen tank. Their conversation is cut short after Maya starts coughing and they leave her to rest. Later that afternoon, Phil has tea with Lusi and Darni in the back terrace as Mira plays with the neighbor's dog, Ifrit, and the two reminisce about old times. They are soon interrupted by the arrival of another one of Phil's old friends, Hilda Oenger, and her cousin, Gladys Pesik. Hilda initially appears as haughty as usual, but soon appears to be vulnerable when Phil mentions Maya. Hilda tells her how it is not only Phil's departure that broke up their old gang, but it was a personal feud between Hilda and Maya regarding their husbands. Phil remarks how silly all of that is and how they should all get together again since they still live in the same village, and how they should all visit Maya tomorrow. Phil calls Erna and Mimi and informs Michael that they intend to visit. At dawn, Minah, still in her mukena, knocks at Phil's bedroom to tell her that Michael called to say that Maya had just died. Phil goes to Maya's funeral along with Mimi, Erna, and Hilda, and later has tea at Phil's house. Each of them confess their disappointment towards themselves for not getting along better and apologize to each other for allowing themselves to grow apart. Phil pulls out a set of cards and the ladies decide to play cards while talking, reminiscing about old times and gossiping. Moes remarks to Mira that they hadn't grown apart that much, 'picking up' from the last time they gathered. Category:Stories